The Battle for Berlin, Ontario

In August 1914, Berlin, Ontario, settled largely by people of German origin, was a thriving, peaceful city. By the spring of 1915 it was a city torn apart by the tensions of war. By September 1916, Berlin had become Kitchener. It began with the need to raise a battalion of 1,100 men to support the British war effort.

Meeting with resistance from a peace-loving community and spurred on by the jingoistic nationalism that demanded troops to fight the hated “Hun,” frustrated soldiers began assaulting citizens in the streets and, on one infamous occasion, a Lutheran clergyman in his parsonage. Out of this turmoil arose a movement to rid the city of its German name, and this campaign, together with the recruiting efforts, made 1916 the most turbulent year in Kitchener’s history.

This is the story of the men and women involved in these battles, the soldiers, the civic officials, the business leaders, and the innocent bystanders, and how they behaved in the face of conditions they had never before experienced.

Contents

Foreword

For many Canadians, World War I (1914-18) marked the end of
an era. Nostalgic memories of life as it might have been before
the war were popularized by Canada's favourite humorist,
Stephen Leacock, in Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, his
delightful stories of the fictional Ontario town of Mariposa. ...

Preface

When I first began researching the Berlin name change it was
with the intention of turning this fascinating piece of Ontario
history into a play, but after a time I decided that what was
needed first was a reasonably detailed account of what actually
occurred in Berlin in 1916, and that the proper form for this was ...

Introduction

Kitchener's downtown core is not particularly attractive. Those
who would argue differently either haven't travelled very much
or else, like mothers of ill-favoured offspring, are happily blind
to the flaws of that which is near and dear. This is not to say
that it is an ugly city exactly. It isn't scruffy or dirty, for ...

ONE: Background to War

The consequences of a particular historical event thread their
way down through the ages, multiplying organically, until in the
fullness of time they issue in other events that appear to have
little in common with the "first cause."
In Switzerland in 1525, Conrad Grebel had a bitter falling
out with Huldrych Zwingli over a matter of profound religious ...

TWO: How to Raise a Battalion

As often as not a stupid war is greeted with mindless euphoria
and a necessary one with soberness and regret. World War I was
such a war, and the universal delight with which it opened was
heightened by the conviction that the whole picnic wouldn't last
long anyway. For the Allies it was "business as usual," and ...

THREE: Soldiers versus Citizens

In Berlin, Ontario, the New Year began full of promise. The
weather was mild, the economy was booming, and C.S.M.
Blood, when asked for his New Year's resolution, got it mixed up
with birthdays and wished for lots more men to go with him to
France. Those who had already joined the 118th had had a ...

FOUR: Change the Name!

Not that the letter to the News-Record made a particularly novel
suggestion. As early as November 1914 the Windsor Record had
rather cheekily proposed the same thing, and sniping of a similar
nature had continued intermittently ever since. The Telegraph
had floated the idea after the sinking of the Lusitania in ...

FIVE: The Tappert Skirmish

While the battle lines were being drawn in the press and at various
meetings by the citizens of Berlin through the end of February
and the first days of March, life for the lads of the 118th,
who were kicking their heels while waiting for their battalion to
be filled, went on its merry way. Training was barely basic, ...

SIX: Defeat at Queen's Park

The two campaigns, to change the name and to raise a battalion,
had, by April 1916, become fatefully intertwined. As Captain
Fraser rather menacingly, but accurately, told his audience
at the Star Theatre, "It is needless for me to say that the interests
of Berlin are bound up in the fortunes of the 118th ...

SEVEN: Victory at Queen's Park

It was probably the Breithaupt group that was initially the more
astounded. The decision was beyond their wildest dreams;
indeed, it was one that they hadn't even requested. In the corridor
outside the committee room one reporter said that they
looked like small boys standing longingly under a peach tree ...

EIGHT: The Referendum Battle

As the French and the Germans performed their interminable
dance of death at Verdun, the Canadians geared up for their first
serious blooding at Mont Sorrel and the Somme, the Americans
continued to dither about whether or not to get in on the act,
and Sir Roger Casement prepared to set sail for his sad destiny ...

NINE: The Vote

In private as well as in public one topic must have dominated
the thoughts of Berliners during the last week of the campaign.
In drawing rooms and on street corners, in offices and shops, on
sidewalks, in parks and schools, and barrooms, pool halls, and
clubs, "The Vote" must surely have been debated with the usual ...

TEN: Kitchener Wins

The following Monday morning Berlin (or Nowhere, Ontario, as
one wag suggested the city would have to be called for the time
being) witnessed another of its "monster" parades. The 118th
Battalion, led by the dignified "Czar," and the less dignified
"Collie," now christened "Jake," who went through his usual ...

ELEVEN: Mopping Up

Though the citizens (or about 8 percent of them anyway) had
voted for Kitchener, the name still had to be ratified by Queen's
Park, so all was not yet quite lost. During the next two months
there was a furious campaign to reverse the decision. Gross, like
a dogged sniper covering the retreat of a beaten army, ...

Epilogue

This episode of Kitchener's history has been a fascinating mixture
of tragi-comedy, farce, and theatre of the absurd, but
before ringing down the curtain let us briefly note, for the curious
reader, the tales of a few of the major players and the outcome
(or lack of it) of one or two of the subjects. ...

Welcome to Project MUSE

Use the simple Search box at the top of the page or the Advanced Search linked from the top of the page to find book and journal content. Refine results with the filtering options on the left side of the Advanced Search page or on your search results page. Click the Browse box to see a selection of books and journals by: Research Area, Titles A-Z, Publisher, Books only, or Journals only.